Raiderettes edge FMS for World Tournament title

In front of a jammed packed house in Chapel Hill Saturday night, the FMS Lady Rockets' magical post-season run ended with a second place finish after a thrilling 35-30 overtime loss to the top-seeded Moore County Raiderettes (15-2) in the 51st Annual World Tournament title game.

"This team has already beaten us once," said Moore County head coach Brooke Lindsay. "I knew it was going to be down to the wire, I knew their press was going to give us trouble, but we won somehow."

Depth pays off

The No. 7 seed Lady Rockets (6-11) gave the Raiderettes everything in the tank, but in the end it was Moore County's depth and clutch free throw shooting that was the difference in the Duck River Valley Conference Tournament title game.

"We just kept working and working and didn't get in much foul trouble, but I think our depth was the difference," said Lindsay. "I'm telling you, I love coaching against another female, you just don't get a chance to very often. She (FMS head coach Rhea Webb) has done wonders with that ball club, she has them playing hard, as hard as they can and they have improved the entire year."

Moore County scored first on a single free throw by Sloan Mann 43 seconds into the contest and then there was no more scoring until Brynn Colvin scored for FMS with 2:55 remaining in the opening period.

Lady Rocket surge

The Lady Rockets surged ahead 7-1 on back-to-back three-point plays in the paint by Colvin and Kyleah Hengesbach.

Moore County's Grace Cauble and Colvin traded baskets at the end of the quarter, giving the hometown squad a 9-3 lead after the first six minutes.

The Raiderettes went on the offensive in the second quarter, outscoring Forrest 8-0 to take an 11-9 lead before the Lady Rockets went back in front 12-11 on a Katie Harmon free throw and a Hengesbach bucket.

With 32.2 seconds remaining in the first half, Mann drained two free throws and then nailed a last second buzzer beater to give the Raiderettes a 15-12 halftime lead.

Few points

In a low scoring third period, Moore County went up by as much as five points until a traditional three-point play by Harmon, followed by a Caitlyn McKenzie jumper off an inbounds play with a few ticks left tied the game at 19, entering the fourth quarter.

A Hengesbach basket to start the quarter was followed by a Colvin steal and score to push FMS back in front 23-19.

The Lady Rockets stayed in the lead for much of the quarter, holding a three-point 26-23 lead when Hengesbach fouled out with 51.8 seconds remaining in the game.

Shayla Castillo and Colvin traded single free throws as Forrest held a 27-24 lead before Katie Thomas cut the FMS lead to two-points with one of two from the charity stripe with 35.8 seconds left.

After a Forrest missed shot, Mann was fouled and she swished two more free throws to tie the game at 27 with 30.8 seconds left.

Tie and OT

Both squads missed opportunities to go-ahead down the stretch and with 1.8 seconds remaining in the game, Colvin just missed the game winner and the contest went to overtime.

Tamia Northcutt gave FMS a 28-27 with one of two from the free throw line, but Grace Cauble matched the Northcutt free throw seconds later to re-knot the contest at 28.

A Katie Harmon basket put FMS in front at 30-28 before Thomas scored at the other end to tie it up for the last time.

Moore County would take a 31-30 lead on a Thomas free throw with 1:38 remaining in the overtime period and Forrest would not score again, missing two free throws and a couple of looks at the basket as time wound down in the game and in their season.

"It was great, it was great ballgame," said Webb after the game. "We told them not to leave anything out on the floor and they didn't, they tried their hardest. We told them how proud we were and the whole community was of them, and they can hold their heads up. We have really grown together as a team and I am really proud of them."

Thomas led all scorers in the ballgame with 13 points, while Colvin had 11 points for FMS.

2012 DRVC All-Tournament Team

Forrest: Brynn Colvin, Kyleah Hengesbach, Tamia Northcutt

Moore County: Sloan Mann, Kinsley Logan and Ella Fanning

Cascade: Kristen Heath

Community: Kizzey Lane, Karla Pena

Liberty: Sydney Ely

Westwood: Kursten Hawkins

MTCS: Abby Buckner, Cammie Adams

Eagleville: Ryleigh Cobb

2012 Girls DRVC All-Season Team

Forrest: Kyleah Hengesbach, Brynn Colvin

Moore County: Katie Thomas, Sloan Mann, Mika Rainey

Community: Sydney Seagroves, Karla Pena

Cascade: Kristen Heath, Bailey Suddeth

Eagleville: Mallory Mosier, Ryleigh Cobb

Liberty: Sydney Ely

MTCS: Abby Buckner, Cammie Adams

Boys Championship: Cascade 43-Eagleville 29

2012 Boys DRVC All-Season Team

Forrest: Jacob Jones

Cascade: Hayden Edmonson, Lane Stacey, Seth Gardner, Hunter Calvert

Community: Jackson Wisenar

Eagleville: Joseph Sewell, Matthew Boyett, Eric Hawks

Liberty: Mike Sorcia, Chris Houston, Will Warner

Moore County: Austin Holdmeyer

MTCS: Nathan Smith

Westwood: Thomas Sullivan

2012 DRVC All-Tournament Team

Forrest: Jacob Jones

Cascade: Hayden Edmonson, Seth Gardner, Hunter Calvert

Community: Jackson Wisenar, Tatan Cagle

Eagleville: Joseph Sewell, Matthew Boyett, Eric Hawks

Liberty: Mike Sorcia, Luke Davidson

Moore County: Austin Holdmeyer

MTCS: Parker Phillips

Westwood: Carlos Medina